CPR Glove a Handy Guide for Saving Lives

One of the winners in the health category in TIME Magazine's Best Inventions of the Year is a glove that knows CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation). Since CPR is very difficult to perform properly, even for trained health professionals, the glove was designed to guide people in an emergency situation.

Three undergraduate engineering students at McMaster University in Canada designed the CPR glove (called simply CPRGloveTM), a black neoprene glove embedded with sensors and chips. When you put the glove on, it instructs you how to do proper chest compressions, where to place your hand, and the correct frequency and force to exert. The glove gives real-time feedback, talking you through the procedure and providing instructional advice.

Besides assisting with emergency CPR, the glove can also provide an improved method for CPR training and testing. Compared with other CPR devices, the glove has the advantage of having every component incorporated into the glove, making it easily portable and accessible. Market testing will begin in 2008, and the glove is expected to be inexpensive enough for widespread use.